HOW TO MARS

What happens when your dream mission to Mars is a reality television nightmare? This debut science-fiction romp with heart that follows the tradition of Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles, with a hints of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the Real World, and Mythbusters.

For the six lucky scientists selected by the Destination Mars! corporation, a one-way ticket to Mars?in exchange for a lifetime of research?was an absolute no-brainer. The incredible opportunity was clearly worth even the most absurdly tedious screening process. Perhaps worth following the strange protocols in a nonsensical handbook written by an eccentric billionaire. Possibly even worth their constant surveillance, the video of which is carefully edited into a ratings-bonanza back on Earth.

But it turns out that after a while even scientists can get bored of science. Tempers begin to fray; unsanctioned affairs blossom. When perfectly good equipment begins to fail, the Marsonauts are faced with a possibility that their training just cannot explain.

Irreverent, poignant, and perfectly weird, David Ebenbach's exciting debut science-fiction outing, like a mission to Mars, is an incredible trip you will never forget.

David Ebenbach is the author of eight books of fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, and his work has picked up awards along the way: the Drue Heinz Literature Prize, the Juniper Prize, the Patricia Bibby Award, and more. He works at Georgetown University, teaching creative writing and literature.